Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Taijiquan Cane Practices

Walking and exercising with a cane has many health benefits. Tai Chi Chuan practices with a cane are an interesting addition to a walker's pleasures and fitness.

When I take long walks (3.6 + miles), I walk six times, east then west, .6 mile per whole lap. I stop between laps to practice Taijiquan (24, 37, 108 Yang; 18 Chen), and the 8 Immortals Cane Form, Part 1. The only martial arts weapon that I practice with is a cane. I practice all the Taijiquan sword and broadsword forms that I know with a cane.

Every time I take a long walk or hike I carry my cane with me. A cane provides support to a walker (like a staff or trekking pole sticks), and a cane can be used effectively for self-defense. Using various cane strikes and stretches while walking is an excellent way to exercise the upper torso. I practice the 8 Immortals Cane Form, Part 1. I use an Instructor's Walking Cane, 40" (103 cm) long and 1" (2.54 cm) in diameter, from Cane Masters. This cane weights 1lb, 2 oz (510 gm). This beautiful martial arts combat cane is made of pure hickory heartwood, has multiple notches at three key gripping points, has a rounded hooked horn, and has a rubber covered tip. I also own the same Instructor's Walking Cane made of oak - a gift from my children.

Way of the Short Staff. By Michael P. Garofalo, M.S. A comprehensive guide to the practice of the short staff, cane, jo, walking stick, gun, zhang, whip staff, 13 Hands Staff, and related wood short staff weapons. A detailed and annotated guide, bibliographies, lists of links, resources, instructional media, online videos, and lessons. Includes use of the short staff and cane in martial arts, self-defense, walking and hiking. Separate sections on Aikido Jo, Cane, Taijiquan cane and staff, Jodo, exercises with a short staff, selected quotations, techniques, selecting and purchasing a short staff, tips and suggestions, and a long section on the lore, legends, and magick of the short staff. Includes "Shifu Miao Zhang Points the Way." Published by Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Taijiquan, Red Bluff, California. Updated on a regular basis since October, 2008. Filesize: 265Kb. Related to Mike's popular webpage on the Staff.

"The correct use of the bo (sai, tonfa, kama, naginata, sword) can produce a stimulating and practical means of "extension" training. It offers a means of martial arts training and discipline. Weapons training teaches the meaning of control, timing, distance, and flexibility as one unit. The practitioner is required to possess speed, coordination, strength, and endurance in utilizing the respective weapons."- History of the Bo Staff

"The jo can be used to strike like a sword, sweep like a naginata, thrust like a spear (yari). Its two ends can be used, unlike the single point of a sword, and its ma-ai (fighting distance) can be varied according to the hand grip you take. Because of its speed and changeable ma-ai, it is a formidable weapon."- Muso Shindo-Ryu Jodo

"In Chinese shamanism, a staff represents the power of the universe. With a staff, a shaman had the power to pass on the universal knowledge to others. Later, when teachers took over part of the shaman's job, they always taught with a small staff in their hands like a shaman."
- Master Zhongxian Wu, Vital Breath of the Dao, p. 106